Belief in the Angels

The existence of angels is one of the pillars of belief in most religious traditions and that is the case in Islam also. God mentions the angels in the Holy Koran in more than ninety different places. Revelation originates in God, as is indicated in verses in which God speaks in the first person: I have sent down (the Qur'an) (Q 2:41), and more often: We have sent down (the Qur'an)" (e.g., Q 44:3; 76:23; 97:1). But revelation does not come down directly to the prophets. The intermediate agents are the angels. God sends them down with the revelations, as is implied in Q 16:2: He sends down (yunazzilu) the angels and the spirit by His commandment on whom He pleases of His servants " Andrew Rippin, The Blackwell companion to the Qur'an, page 237

The Holy Qur'an

Belief in the Angels

It is said that the word "angel" comes from the Latin "angelus," which is borrowed from the Greek "angelos." In Arabic the word is "malak" or "malaak," plural "malaa'ikat." The Arabic root verb "alaka," which means "to give a message," confirms the angel's etymological connection to the function of Messenger of God in the Semitic languages.

The existence of angels is one of the pillars of belief in most religious traditions and that is the case in Islam also. God mentions the angels in the Holy Koran in more than ninety different places. They also occupy prominent places in the narrations of the Prophet Muhammad, Peace be upon him, and the many accounts of saints and the pious men and women of the recent past and present. The following pages are an all-too-brief selection of some of the accounts and explanations that have reached us from those three sources.

The Koran says (2:285): "The Messenger believeth in that which hath been revealed unto him from his Lord and so do the believers. Each one believeth in God and His angels and His scriptures and His messengers — We make no distinction between any of His messengers — and they say: We hear, and we obey. Grant us Thy forgiveness, our Lord. Unto Thee is the journeying." God thus orders every person to believe in His angels as an obligation parallel to that of believing in Himself, His Books, and His Messengers." [1]

"The existence of angels is a universally accepted doctrine in different countries and different religions. However, they are sometimes discussed under other titles, the distinction being only one of nomenclature. Similarly, the nature of angels is understood differently among the followers of different religions. Islam speaks of angels as celestial beings of a spiritual nature who have their own entity as persons. The major role they play is the transmission of messages from God to human beings. But they are misunderstood by many, even within Islam, as having human shape or some shape and form, which in fact is an inseparable idea from that of material existence. Matter must have shape and a well defined boundary. But spirit lies beyond the five dimensions of man's understanding. One can only believe in the existence of spirit if he is a religious person; otherwise it is beyond his reach to conceive the shape and form of spirits. Perhaps to resolve this problem and to make it easier for man to visualise angels, they are sometimes mentioned in religious books as appearing to holy people in the form of human beings." [2]

Kash was born at the Sentosa Clinic, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on October 19, 1980, the day the new moon was sighted to confirm Eid al-Ahda for all Muslims. This day is known as Hari Raya Haji (Malaysian Muslim term for Eid Al-Adha.)

This day is specially remembered because of a Muslim colleague Ahmad bin Seliddin at Tengku Abdul Rahman College, Setapak. He informed Kash's father over the walkie-talkie that he had received a call from the Sentosa Clinic confirming that his wife had delivered a baby boy. This co-worker then added these words, "You are a blessed soul. Your son has been born on a very auspicious day."

Kash's father thanked him repeatedly because it was his first-born, and a son. Little did he realize that the simple words of a humble Muslim congratulating him for a birth on the holiest day of the Muslim calendar had set in motion one of the earliest Sure Signs of Allah.

Two years later Kash's mother gave birth to another son, Shahwinder in 1982.

Kash's mother had for years yearned for a daughter as she already had two sons. Kash had heard her on many occasions telling her spouse, sisters, and close friends that she would be the happiest woman is ever blessed with a daughter. The prediction of a Chinese fortune-teller that she would be extremely lucky if ever a girl was born only intensified this desire.

The family migrated to Canada in 1988.

Yet another son Arwinder resulted from her third pregnancy in Canada.
Thus another pregnancy four years later did not brighten hopes. There was resignation to the fact that fate would not favor her and it would be another baby boy.

In November 1993 Kash received the Baptism of Allah (Surah 2:138 Al Baqarah) for the first time, and met the Ruh of Allah Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi. (Subsequently he was introduced to the messengers of God Almighty, including Prophet Muhammad.)

One day Kash, seeing the plight and deep genuine desire of his mother for a daughter, decided to secretly seek the help of the Great Divine Mother without his parent's knowledge.

He meditated and emerged through the clouds into the mystical Kingdom of Allah within. The Primal Light shone ever so brightly from behind the Supreme Throne of the Ruh of Allah as She sat in Bliss and Joy.

After bowing down and exchanging greetings he asked if Her if She could grant his mother a daughter as she had been waiting for years for this dream to come true. The Ruh of Allah smiled and told him that his wish will be fulfilled.

His mother was pregnant with a fourth child.

Although Dr. Parvin had determined that she would deliver on March 23, 1994, it was hoped that it would be on March 21, the spring equinox.

There were numerous false calls but that day passed uneventfully. And more followed.

Just before midnight on April 2, 1994 Kash's mother delivered at the Lakeshore General Hospital, Montreal, Canada. It was a baby girl! It was on Easter, the holiest day of Christianity.

The boon of the Ruh of Allah that Kash's mother would be granted a daughter had come true precisely at 11:44 p.m. (This birth falls within Easter Sunday for in 16 minutes the clocks of North America had to be adjusted an hour ahead, being the first Sunday of April.)

According to Abdullah Yusuf Ali the "female womb is just an example, a type of extreme secrecy. Not even the female herself knows what is in the womb — whether it is a male or a female young, whether it is one or more, whether it will be born short of the standard time or to exceed the standard time. But the most hidden and apparently unknowable things are clear to Allah's knowledge: there is no mere chance: all things are regulated by Allah in just measure and proportion." [3]

The Ruh of Allah not only granted Kash his wish but also made sure his sister would be born on a very auspicious day and hour. Both father and son were aware at that time that both births, one on the most holiest days of Islam and and the other of Christianity were the preordained Sure Signs of Allah.

But the father was utterly unprepared for what was in store for him.

The next day on April 3, 1994 Kash as usual went to his room to meditate.

After about twenty minutes he came out of his room and told his father that the Ruh of Allah had informed him of something. The father was eager to know.

Kash opened his mouth to speak, "Papa, Mother said that my sister is an angel . . . ."

The very moment he said these words his father instantly and unconsciously gripped the heart with his right hand and wept uncontrollably. There was no stopping him as the colossal Truth hit him like a mighty tidal wave.

Again and again this Truth reverberated from the center of his heart, drenching every pore of his being with vibrations. Wave after wave resonated back and forth as he kept holding his heart tightly and continued crying, as if it would burst open if he let go.

It took some time before he could regain his composure.

Then Kash explained that the Great Cosmic Mother had also told him that his newborn sister was very pure and innocent.

A few days later on April 10, 1994, Kash meditated and made another mystical journey. The Divine Radiance shone ever so brilliantly from above the Eternal Throne as the Ruh of Allah sat in Bliss and Joy.

He bowed down to Her. Before meditating he asked the Spirit of Allah whether it would be all right to tell the Sahaja Yogis that Lalita was an angel. The Great Divine Mother replied:

All these mystical revelations soon began puzzle the father. Why was all this happening to him? What had he done to deserve such blessings? Why to someone who never stepped in a temple to seek God Almighty?

There were so many questions. However, one question urgently needed an answer. If Lalita was an angel then who was Kash?

On April 23, 1994, Kash was told to solve this mystery. He bowed before the photograph of the Great Spiritual Mother, raised his Kundalini, and went into fana (deep meditation). He was immediately transported to the mystical heaven within.

The Everlasting Light shone ever so brilliantly from above the Celestial Throne as the Ruh of Allah sat in Bliss and Joy. He bowed and asked permission to pose a few questions. She agreed.

Next morning, on April 19, 1994, Kash went to meditate again with Shri Mataji. The divine energy of the Shekinah coursed through the Sefirots and took him into the Pleroma, the Bridal Chamber that ancient Hebrews knew existed within all humans. He opened his eyes as he emerged from the celestial clouds of the Kingdom of Heaven. The Supreme Spirit was sitting on the majestic Throne, with the Eternal Light shining above Her.

Kash bowed and squatted before Her. He then had a talk with Her. In the course of this conversation the Great Spirit told him that his name in heaven was "Shri," and that both Lalita and he were from the same family living in heaven.

On April 23, 1994, at 17:45 hr., after been earlier revealed his own true identity, Kash meditated and reached the Tabernacle of God in his Sahasrara. The Eternal Light shone from above the Eternal Throne as the Ruh of Allah sat in Bliss and Joy.

He bowed before the Supreme Spirit and asked Her this question: "Shri Mataji, can I tell everybody that I am an angel and my name is Shri?" Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi replied:

"Of course tell everybody your name is Shri. Then everybody will believe in God!"

The followers of Muhammad are extolled to revere Angels. The Koran addresses their duties holy angels: "The existence of Angels and their purity are absolutely required to be believed in the Koran: and he is reckoned an infidel who denies there are such beings, or hates any of them." " [4]

This revelation of angels on Earth comes from the Ruh of Allah sent to announce the Resurrection. This Sure Sign is sealed by evidence beyond human manipulation, that is their precise birth dates on the holiest days of Islam and Christianity. Only Allah has the power to ensure that His angels are born on the Muslim Id-Adha of 1990 and the Christian Easter of 1994.

This information about angels and their preordained births on the holiest days of Islam and Christianity has to be disclosed because Muslims will refuse to believe that it is possible for any human to reveal about Prophet Muhammad, Al-Qiyamah or Allah's Ruh. And of utmost importance these extremely sensitive issues must be irrefutably backed by the Quran!

It was out of unrestrained joy and bliss brought by the knowledge of their identities and the priceless boons of the Ruh of Allah that this news was poured out. There was just innocence in the hearts of Kash's parents for only fools would be proud of such divine blessings. It was thought that all humankind could share and rejoice in these Celestial Gifts and be filled with hope and joy of the promised Resurrection (Al-Qiyamah).

This Good News of the birth of angels and the existence of His Kingdom was told to some Sahaja Yogis, and there were great expectations of collective bliss. After all it was the Great Adi Shakti Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi Herself who had made such miracles possible and presented irrefutable evidence to the human race that the Creator, His Messengers and countless spiritual beings do exist in His Kingdom.

However, that was not to be. The initial attempts in 1994 undertaken with only a genuine desire to advance the Truth met with adverse reaction from all, even childhood friends. To all of them it was an outrageous assertion and the work of evil spirits.

The strongest opposition came from senior Sahaja Yogis who denounced it outright. The chorus of negativity kept on swelling like mighty tidal waves, cresting, and crashing down relentlessly to subdue and silence the Truth.

In the end the whole family became spiritual outcasts for daring to utter a Truth so radical that even the most enlightened of Her devotees rejected it. The whole family were the first heretics at the Dawn of the New Millennium, ridiculed by each and every soul to whom the father spoke.

Kash's mother was the most affected and just wanted no one be told of her son's experiences anymore. She began to insist that whatever the Great Divine Feminine was revealing were solely for the family to realize and attain spiritual release. It was not to be told to anyone else, not even the devotees of the Great Adi Shakti.

.
Even Kash told his father that no one was believing anything, that they were "just pretending to listen." He advised that it was better to just keep quiet as no one was the least interested in knowing what he had to tell them.

However, his father felt otherwise. Such priceless Knowledge could never be just for his own selfish use but for the benefit of the entire human family.

Unknown to the family, the very Truth that Kash witnessed was so explosive that the Qur'an prophesied 1,400 years ago it will rock the world during the announcement of Qiyamah (surah 78:1-5 An-Naba)!

That was precisely what was happening: Even Sahaja Yogis who knew and believed that the Resurrection was taking place refused to believe what they were hearing. It did not matter even if revealed by the Great Adi Shakti in their own Sahasraras, and on whom they were meditating daily. This eruption of Truth was just too astounding and far-fetched even for the very messengers of Al-Qiyamah! As far as they were concerned Kash was 'possessed by evil spirits.'

But Kash's father knew that he had to perform his duty even if everybody — his parents, friends, relatives, and fellow Sahaja Yogis — ridiculed, criticized, or ostracized him.

He became resolute and reiterated that he would announce all revelations, given the vast weight of unquestionable evidence, no matter how ridiculous others thought of his claims. It was imperative that he did so and allow the entire human race and history to judge him, and not a few skeptical individuals. He knew that millions were waiting for the Golden Age where "no one is ruled or ruler, where no promise of Heaven offers us false compensation for our present pain, but where we tend together the earth's living, fruitful flesh."

These Revelations, precisely for those who rejected the authoritarian and suppressive religious institutions, would free humanity from their suffocating custody and allow every individual to seek their spiritual union with the Supreme Spirit within, transforming them in the process into the new race destined to heal all nations. These Truths had to be told no matter what the consequences. It was a moral duty that any conscientious human would most willingly do.

In the end, after weeks of turmoil in the family, there was a compromise. The father agreed to maintain silence and let things take their course, as required by his spouse, provided he be allowed to question Kash in detail and record all of his mystical experiences. He would then wait for the appropriate time to release them for the benefit of others.

On April 2, 1995, at 11:20 a.m. Kash was told to obtain permission from the Great Universal Mother to reveal the Truth. He meditated and emerged through the clouds into the Land of Eternal Life. The Primal Light shone ever so brightly from above as the Ruh of Allah sat in Bliss and Joy.

After bowing down and exchanging greetings, he asked if She would grant permission. She gave Her blessings with a reminder that this intuitive Knowledge was especially for Her devotees.

It was at this point that the actual compilation of his spiritual journeys began in earnest. Kash was questioned practically every day, sometimes repeatedly, to clarify and confirm what he saw, heard, thought, spoke, smelled, touched, and tasted. Often questions were asked suddenly when he least expected just to get him off-guard to confirm consistency. All answers came with a calm and nonchalant attitude, without contradiction.

However, the sustained negativity and adverse reactions from almost all quarters regarding the experiences of Kash experiences began to take its toll.

After a few months of writing notes his father began deleting evidence of Kash and Lalita's spiritual identities. To officially reveal to the Sahaja Yogis that they were indeed angels would only make matters worse. This assertion would be regarded as blatant self-advertisement, a shameless bid for grandiose fame. It would be better for everyone if such a preposterous claim be withdrawn. Kash's spiritual abilities could be ascribed to him being just a jivanmukti, a liberated soul. Lalita could be briefly mentioned as the fulfillment of the Adi Shakti's promise to Kash that his wish for a sister would come true.

But that was not to be as almost immediately the Ruh of Allah intervened to stop Kash's father from deleting the revelations of their identities.

LAA UQSIM BI-YAWM AL-QIYAMAH;
WA-LAA UQSIM BI-AN-NAFSAL-LAWWAAMAH
I do call to witness the Resurrection Day;
And I do call to witness the self-reproaching Spirit.

Concerning what are they disputing?
Concerning the Great News. [5889]
About which they cannot agree.
Verily, they shall soon (come to) know!
Verily, verily they shall soon (come to) know!

surah 78:1-5 Al Naba' (The Great News)

"5889. Great News: usually understood to mean the News or Message of the Resurrection."

Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an, Amana Corporation, 1989.

Types of Kufr (Disbelief) — Adapted from 'Tafseer ibn Katheer'

1. Kufrul-'Inaad: Disbelief out of stubbornness;
2. Kufrul-Inkaar: Disbelief out of denial;
3. Kufrul-Kibr: Disbelief out of arrogance and pride;
4. Kufrul-Juhood: Disbelief out of rejection;
5. Kufrul-Nifaaq: Disbelief out of hypocrisy;
6. Kufrul-Kurh: Disbelief out of detesting any of Allah's commands;
7. Kufrul-Istihzaha: Disbelief due to mockery and derision;
8. Kufrul-I'raadh: Disbelief due to avoidance;

In Abdullah Yusuf Ali's commentary Kufr, Kafara, Kafir, and
derivative forms of the word imply a deliberate rejection of faith, revelation and truth of the Holy Qur'an:
"The culmination of Allah's Revelation is in the Qur'an, which confirms
previous scriptures, corrects the errors which men introduced into
them, and explains many points in detail for all who seek right
worship and service to Allah—whether they inherit the previous Books
or not. It is a universal Message ... The worst and most hardened
sinner is the man to whom Allah's Signs are actually brought home and
who yet prefers Evil and turns away from the Light of Allah. The
Signs may be in the words and guidance of a great Teacher or in some
sorrow or warning, but from which he deliberately refuses to profit.
The penalty—the Nemesis—must necessary come eventually."

According to Ibn Taymiyah (1263 - 1328) "kufr is
the attribute of everyone who rejects something that God has
commanded us to believe in, after news of that has reached him,
whether he rejects it in his heart without uttering it, or he speaks
those words of rejection without believing it in his heart, or he
does both; or he does an action which is described in the texts as
putting one beyond the pale of faith."

However, this explanation of kufr is most lucid and applicable to the sheer gravity, importance, and dire consequences of this universal Message of Al-Qiyamah (The Resurrection):
"Just as faith for Muslims has to do not with believing but with knowing, so
kufr, rejection, is not a lack of belief, not an intellectual position that holds that something is
otherwise than is the case, and certainly it is not mere ignorance. Rather it, too, like its correlative iman, presupposes knowledge; for it is an active
repudiation of what one knows to be true. This is why it is a sin, and indeed a (the)
monstrous sin. It is the one final, cosmic (or some would say, the one final human) wrong;
the deliberate saying of 'no' to what one knows to be right." (Wilfred Cantwell Smith, On Understanding Islam: Selected Studies, 1981, page 154)

Therefore most of the Al-Kufr ul Akbar (major disbeliefs) are applicable to
those rejecting or disbelieving Allah's (SWT) Signs and surahs
upholding the collection, promulgation, recital, explanation and
warning of the following:

i) His Call to witness Al-Qiyamah (The Resurrection);
ii) His Call to witness His Ruh (self-reproaching Spirit);
iii) His Call to heed Al Naba (The Great News);
iv) His Call to participate in Al Qadr (The Night of Power and Destiny);
v) His Call to confirm His Revelations, Signs, and Warnings (of i-iv).

Thus kaffir (non-believer) here is applied to all humankind,
both Muslim and non-Muslim, who reject the Call that God has commanded us
to believe in after His Revelations, Signs and Warnings have reached us.
The Qur'an clearly warns that many will disbelief, even mock, the
Great News and Sure Signs of Al-Qiyamah.

So be forewarned, and in the Hereafter never deny deliverance of this clear Warning:
"O ye assembly of Jinns and men! came there not unto you
messengers from amongst you, setting forth unto you My signs, and
warning you of the meeting of this Day of yours?" Qur'an 6.130

And those still rejecting, hesitant or unable to make up their minds even after hearing the Great News and shown the Signs,
Allah (SWT) questions: "Are they waiting until the Hour comes to them
suddenly? All the Signs thereof have already come. Once the Hour
comes to them, how will they benefit from their message?" "Why do
they not study the Quran carefully? Do they have locks on their
minds?" Qur'an 47:18-24

The last paragraph is yet another warning from Allah (SWT) that
prior to the Wrath of the End (Al Qariah) humans are offered the
Mercy of the Resurrection (Al Qadr). And once the Hour of Al Qariah
comes to them, how will they benefit from their contemporary message of Al Qadr i.e., from the Great News of the messengers from amongst you? How will those reading these lines benefit if they continue to doubt and wait, and the Striking Day comes suddenly?
What use then will be the Mercy and Compassion of Al Qadr (Night of Destiny) if the morn of the Al Qariah (Striking Day) ends His Peace?
Why doesn't the Ummah then not study the Quran with painstaking effort to avoid the errors, mistranslation and ignorance of the ulema that have presently paralyzed their minds from believing the Great News? Why don't they use their own mental faculties and intelligence to understand Al- Qiyamah, the heart and soul of the living, breathing Quran? Living and breathing because God Almighty is now talking directly to you through His Holy Book! After all, it is Allah (SWT) who has now called out to all Believers with this Decree: "I do call to witness the Resurrection Day; And I do call to witness the self-reproaching Spirit." He is specifically addressing you in particular (and Believers is general) to do so!

Only now in this modern age of universal education, mass media and publishing technology—after 14 centuries and unlike the illiterate past—is it possible to own and be sufficiently
literate to "study the Quran carefully" in languages they understand
best.* And just in case the Believers start studying the entire Qur'an, it
must be stressed that Allah (SWT) is referring specifically to those
eschatological Signs and surahs upholding His Call to bear witness of the
Resurrection! They must thoroughly examine and understand the Signs that have already manifested, and
set forth by messengers from amongst themselves.

Without question, to "study the Quran carefully" means using one's own mental faculties, not those of the ulema (Muslim clergy) who have
for centuries put "locks on their minds" and are the very reason for
the Ummah's present predicament i.e., their unprecedented kaffir-like mindset,
reaction, rejection and mocking of His Call, Signs and Great News of the Resurrection. They must know that during Al Qadr no 'graves are going to open up'
as this is His Night of Compassion and Mercy. So "Peace!... This until the rise of the morn!" (Quran 97:5)

"There is so much blind faith, there is so much of wrong ideas, so much of organizational fortresses they have built. All kinds of nonsensical things are going on in this world, but they'll all be finished."

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi
Vienna, Austria, 8 June 1988

"We are now in the Blossom Time, as I call it, because many flowers are born and they are to become the fruits. This is the Resurrection Time, which is described in all the scriptures. But it's not like this, the way they had described us. Something wrong with them that all the dead bodies who are in the graves will come out of the graves. I mean, how much is left out of them, God knows. Must be some bones or maybe some skulls there. So they'll come out of the graves and they will get their Resurrection!!!? This is a very wrong idea.

Once I happened to meet a fellow, a Muslim from Bosnia and he told Me, "I want to die for my religion, for God's sake." I said, "But why? Who told you to die?" He said, "Now, if I die in the name of God, I'll be resurrected." I said, "It's all wrong. That's not the way it is going to work out. Resurrection is going to work out this way that at this time, all these souls will take their birth. All these souls will take their birth and they will be resurrected. As human beings they'll have to come."

That's why we find all kinds of funny people these days, all kinds of cruel, criminal, all kinds of idiotic, stupid, I mean very queer, weird, funny ideas which find such, such a variety of people and such a tremendous population that we should understand they have to have their chance of Resurrection. But how many will come? That's the point. How many are going to come?"

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi
Philadelphia, USA — October 15, 1993

So Peace to all Believers bearing witness to the Resurrection (Al-Qiyamah)! So Peace to all Believers bearing witness to His self-reproaching Spirit (Ruh)! So Peace to all Believers resurrecting themselves during this blessed Night of Power and Destiny (Al Qadr)! So Peace to all Believers of the Great News (Al Naba)! So Peace until the dreadful morn of the Great Calamity, the Striking Day (Al Qariah) against the Unbelievers (Al-Kafirun)!

Last, but not the least, the Qur'an insists that ample warning of impending calamity must be always delivered by His messengers:

"That is because thy Lord would never destroy the cities unjustly, while their inhabitants were heedless." (Quran 6.131);
"Never did We destroy a population, but had its warners - By way of reminder; and We never are unjust." (Quran 26:208-209);
"And never did Thy Lord destroy the townships, till He had raised up in their mother-town a messenger reciting unto them Our revelations." (Quran 27:59);

This cardinal rule has been expressly complied with and Warning of the impending Great Calamity repeatedly announced and fearlessly upheld by the incarnation of His Ruh for more than three decades until Her retirement in 2008 at the age of 85. (Since Jesus is the mandatory Sign of the Hour [Quran 43:61], and as the Comforter promised and sent by God Almighty in Jesus' name, She has also ceaselessly glorified Christ and His Message of the Last Judgment.)

"I should do something to bring sense to these people (humanity). Something should happen to them otherwise what I see is a
complete disaster. It is going to happen. I do not want to frighten you
like Mrs Thatcher does about the Russians. That might be imaginary. But
this is real. I am warning you that the Disaster is going to come as destruction itself."

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi
London, UK, 6 June 1983

"The Last Judgment has started. We are facing the Last Judgment today. We are not aware of it. And all the satanic forces have come out like the wolves in sheep's clothes. And they are trying to attract you and you do not judge them. You only sit down and judge the Reality. It has started! It is a fact! It has started!"

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi
Kingston, UK, 6 November 1980

"I have such respect for so many of them (Muslims). I wish they could accept that this is not Jihad time anymore but
Qiyamah Time, the Resurrection Time, the Blossom Time. Are they going to miss it?"

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

*
— "Muslim illiteracy worldwide stands at about 51 percent for all age
groups over fifteen. Despite a rapid increase in primary school
enrollment, only 45 percent of Muslim children aged six to eleven
attend primary school. An even larger gap exists at higher levels of
research." - Martin S. Kramer, Arab awakening and Islamic revival,
1996, page 280;
— "The vast majority of Muslims do not speak Arabic as their native
tongue" - Christine Huda Dodge, The everything understanding Islam,
2003, page 21;
— "The degree of knowledge of Arabic determines a person's
understanding of the Islamic creed. The Quran, the Hadith and Sira
traditions (Prophetic sayings and actions), and the writings of the
early Islamic scholars and jurists were in Arabic. Imam Shafei (767-
820), the founder of the Shafei School of Sunni jurisprudence,
advocated that every Muslim should learn Arabic, at least to the
point of reciting the Quran (Hourani 1991, 68). Most non-Arab Muslims
do not understand Arabic." - Elie Elhadj, The Islamic Shield, 2006, page
22;
— "If your mother tongue is not Arabic, Satan (or his troops) will
encourage you to read the Quran in Arabic. Why does he do that?
Because he knows that you will not understand enough of it. The
majority of those who learn Arabic to study the Quran do not excel
enough to understand the implication or interpretation of certain
words when used in a special way in the Arabic language. They will
have a lot of shortcomings. Many Pakistani and Indian Muslims are
forced as children to read the Quran in Arabic and still as adults
read the Quran in Arabic but they do not understand a single word of
what they read... The Quran is a message, not just another beautiful
language book. If you cannot read it in Arabic do not wait until the
day you excel in your Arabic language, because this day may never
come. Trust God and know that He is the teacher of the Quran. He will
teach in any language and to any nationality, He created all things.
Read your Quran today, (do not wait any longer,) in any language that
you can understand and master and leave the rest to God." Dr. Rashad
Khalifa, Ph.d.

ADDITIONAL QUOTES

"Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi attended this recent Sahaja Yoga public program held at Albert Hall, London, UK. Below is a quote from the Sahaja Yoga News magazine:

Then She asked if anyone wanted to ask questions. A stream of questions began and again Sri Mataji turned many of them into a joke and got everyone laughing. It felt very luxurious as though we had all the time in the world, that everyone was going to be completely satisfied.

Somebody asked Her about Angels and She said that Angels are like the flowers. They are beautiful. You cannot see them, but they are there sometimes working through a human form to help you in many ways." "

Carol Robertson, Sahaja Yoga News, 13/10/00

"Sufism, a relevant stream of Islamic mysticism, aims at recovering the original spirit of Muhammad's teaching, blaming externals and a mere homage to religious dogmas in order to attain another dimension, which is specifically inner. "The Chant of the Dervish" (Parables of Sufi wisdom) is a collection of the most significant stories from the work of Jalaluddin Rumi's, a great poet and one of the most relevant Sufi masters as well. He hopes for a world without books or tutors, where man can attain the truth simply, by seeing inside himself. Rumi's ideal man is perfect and does not need to look for anything outside: this is the kind of awareness he must develop; if he manages to do it, he will understand that he includes the most authentic core of all religious teachings inside himself. In fact, God is not to be found on the Cross, nor in a Hindu temple, nor in a mosque, but only in our own heart, as it is obvious to he who knows how its abysses can be fathomed. We cannot look for Him elsewhere....

Sufism is a very special kind of mysticism, which does not address itself to he who lives outside the world, but, on the contrary, to he who lives in the world and is continuously engaged in daily life matters. Be it an appendix of Islam, or even something prior to Muhammad's teaching, Sufism allows man to reach eternity and to realize himself."

Sufism and Islam, leonardoarena.tripod.com

"Mystical relationship between man and the sacred

Nature of the relationship

Identification of man with the divine, according to many the heart of mysticism, raises problems from other points of view as well. Pantheism, which asserts that all is God (or Nature), and God (or Nature) is all, is looked upon as a false doctrine in many religions. To John Calvin's leading question — "The Devil also must be God, substantially?" — the unsuspecting Spanish theologian and physician Michael Servetus had answered smilingly: "Do you doubt it?" The opinion cost him his life. The Hindus' Upanisads, however, insist on this identity in passage after passage. Closely looked at, this may not be simple pantheism but an identity in difference, a paradox present in even Vedanta (a Hindu monistic system). Islam has been fiercely critical of these claims of oneness and the medieval mystic al-Hallaj had to pay with his life (922) for making the unorthodox announcement of his identity with the divine: "Ana al-haqq" ("I am the Truth"). He was not the only one to speak in this manner. The more moderate Mahmud Shabestari had reported an experience (c. 1320): (See Shabestari, Sa'd od-Din Mahmud.):

In God there is no duality. In that presence "I" and "we" and "you" do not exist. "I" and "you" and "we" and "He" become one. Since in the unity there is no distinction, the Quest and the Way and the Seeker become one....

The approaches to the divine or sacred are various rather than uniform. Moving through physical, intellectual, devotional, and symbolic rituals and disciplines, it moves toward the ultimate goal: the annihilation of the self, unio mystica ("mystical union") in Western Christianity, moksa ("salvation") in Hinduism, Nirvana (the State of Bliss) in Buddhism, and fana' ("the snuffing out of self") in Islam. Though the words differ, the experiences are perhaps allied, if not the same. In a Sufi (Islamic mystical) poem the divine voice speaks exultantly:

Annihilate yourself gloriously and joyously in Me, and in Me you shall find yourself;
So long as you do not realize your nothingness, you will never reach the heights of immortality."

Britannica Online, (1994-1998 Encyclopdia Britannica, Inc.)

"God created in the faiths:

The basic premise here is that God reveals himself differently within different religious traditions. Typically an individual will affirm the God who is revealed within his religion, but will reject God as He appears in other religions. According to Ibn Arabi, this denial of the God found in external religions reflects a less advanced level of spiritual development. Ibn Arabi maintains that after fana an individual becomes capable of recognizing God's self-revelation in all religions.

(fana: This has a number of different meanings, but within the passages quoted here it most often means "ego death.")"

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"That divine Message is summed up in the gospel of Divine Unity, on which the greatest emphasis is laid: "verily, verily your God is One." It is a fact intimately connected with our own life and destiny. . . . There is complete harmony and unity in heaven and you have to put yourselves into unison with it — by discipline in ranks, by unity of plan and purpose in repelling evil, and by concerted action in promoting the Kingdom of God. Here is the mystery of the manifold variety of creation pointing to the absolute Unity of the Creator."

Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an

"Mystical theology, both in the East and in the West, has sometimes been divided over the issue whether the union with the divine is the result of one's unaided effort or supernatural grace.
The approaches to the divine or sacred are various rather than uniform. Moving through physical, intellectual, devotional, and symbolic rituals and disciplines, it moves toward the ultimate goal: the annihilation of the self, unio mystica ("mystical union") in Western Christianity, moksa ("salvation") in Hinduism, Nirvana (the State of Bliss) in Buddhism, and fana ("the snuffing out of self") in Islam. Though the words differ, the experiences are perhaps allied, if not the same. In a Sufi (Islamic mystical) poem the divine voice speaks exultantly:

Annihilate yourself gloriously and joyously in Me, and in Me you shall find yourself; So long as you do not realize your nothingness, you will never reach the heights of immortality."

COLLECTION, PROMULGATION, RECITAL AND EXPLANATION OF SURAHS UPHOLDING HIS COMMAND TO WITNESS AL-QIYAMAH AND HIS SPIRIT WITHIN

75:16. Move not thy tongue concerning the (Resurrection), to make haste therewith (Do not speculate about the Resurrection [at every solar eclipse] and assume its commencement sooner than decreed)75:17. It is for Us to collect and to promulgate it (As it is for Us to bring together the various surahs [in the future] and put the Resurrection into effect by official proclamation).75:18. But when We have promulgated it, follow thou its recital (But when We have officially proclaimed the Great News [Al-Naba] of the Resurrection, obey the enumerated surahs).75:19. Nay more, it is for Us to explain (More so, it is for Us to make clear [by describing in detail its relevant facts]).